#1Famous people · Ulverston, Cumbria
Stan Laurel tops a list of 31 famous people born in Ulverston
At the top of the list is the English actor Stan Laurel, covered in 62 languages. Second place goes to the English statesman John Barrow, third to Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett. 15 of them were born in the 20th century, more than in any other period. Per head, the list is long: 27.6 for every 10,000 residents, where the typical town in Cumbria has 10.4.
Born here
31
notable people
Best known
Stan Laurel
in 62 Wikipedia languages
First
1741
James Penny
Youngest
1998
Jess Gillam
Most common field
Sports
11 people
What stands out about Ulverston’s famous people
★ What stands out · The best known
Born in Ulverston
Two of the three are leaders.
#1
#2
#3Politics & Law
Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett
1883–1962British judge (1883-1962)
16 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years
When Ulverston’s famous people were born
The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 5 births.
SportsFilm, TV & StagePolitics & LawWriting & ArtsScience & MedicineFaithMilitaryBusinessMusicNotable
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Ulverston is known for
Ulverston has 1.3× the usual share of scientists and doctors.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Ulverston
Here are 28 more, born from 1741 to 1998.
Michelle Scrogham
born 1970British politician, from 2024, Member of Parliament for Barrow and Furness
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns around it, Barrow-in-Furness has the most on record: 131.
Questions about famous people from Ulverston
Who is the most famous person from Ulverston?
Stan Laurel (English actor (1890–1965)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 62 languages. Next come John Barrow and Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett.
How many famous people were born in Ulverston?
31 people born in Ulverston have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 33 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Ulverston known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 11 of the 31. That is 35% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Ulverston?
James Penny, born in 1741. The youngest on the list was born in 1998.
Who counts as from Ulverston?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Ulverston’s built-up area (the ONS 2022 boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary (Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (18)
- Stan Laurel: US Department of Agriculture, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Barrow: John Jackson, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett: Soviet judges at Nuremberg, 1945.jpg: Charles Alexander[1], Office of the United States Chief of Counsel[2] derivative work: Jappalang, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ella Blaylock Atherton: Irving Allison Watson, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ernest Glendinning: White, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Liam Tomsett: Liamtaylor007, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Eric Jones: Stuxxx.Glenxxxxxxx, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Michelle Scrogham: ©House of Commons / Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Frank Jefferson: Chemical Engineer, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Penny: Thomas Hargreaves, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Oliver Wilkes: Mortonstalker, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cuthbert Bardsley: Herry Lawford from Stockbridge, UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Bolton: Artist Joseph Allen, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Emlyn Hughes: Comet Photo AG (Zürich), CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John A. Agnew: Sophsommer, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- George Romney: George Romney, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Rosemary Grant: David Craig from Salem, Oregon, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.